Second Chances
by Laney 916
Summary: [AU] Eighteen year-old Rei is a single mother, struggling to support her baby when she meets an aspiring musician named Yūichirou and the two begin to fall for one another. Rei/Yūichirou, some Usagi/Mamoru, and Haruka/Michiru.
1. Chapter 1

**_Summary: [AU] Eighteen year-old Rei is a single mother, struggling to support her baby when she meets an aspiring musician named Yūichirou and the two begin to fall for one another. Rei/Yūichirou, some Usagi/Mamoru, and Haruka/Michiru._**

**_Rated T for strong language, some violence, and a little sex here and there, but nothing too explicit._**

* * *

**Second Chances**

* * *

Chapter 1

-Rei's POV-

Hi, my name is Hino Rei. I am eighteen years old. I was a normal girl, well, as normal as a senshi with psychic powers could be...until recently, that is.

You see, when I was sixteen, I was a little boy crazy. What teenage girl isn't? I had dreams of meeting my Prince Charming and getting married as well as having a good job and making lots of money.

It all started when Usagi, Ami, Makoto, Minako, and I had gone to the rollerskating rink for a girls' day out. I was practicing some of the jumps that Makoto had just showed me when I misjudged the landing and fell, hitting my left leg on the floor. Ouch! The girls rushed over to help and Ami examined my leg, which turned out to be okay aside from some bruising. We all breathed sighs of relief that I wasn't too badly injured.

An older guy had witnessed the incident and skated over to me and offered me a hand, smiling at me as he helped me up. I smiled back and thanked him for his kind gesture. Man, he was such a hunk! The girls practically drooled all over him. His dark green eyes shined like emeralds underneath the florescent lights and his hair was almost the color of beach sand. His smile took my breath away and I became temporarily speechless as he asked me for my name. Once I regained my voice, I shyly told him. He complemented me, telling me that I was beautiful and that my name fit perfectly, then he introduced himself as Akiyama Ryo.

He was a college student at the time, studying to become a marine biologist while I dreamed of everything from being a business woman to a world famous singer, seiyuu, and model. He was instantly smitten with me, and I, him.

We quickly formed a friendship and went out every Sunday for the next two or three months. The girls were happy for me, but my grandfather didn't like it one bit, thinking that Ryo wasn't good enough for me. He looked at him as though he were a dangerous criminal. It took a lot of convincing, but he finally gave in on the condition that I kept my bedroom door open when Ryo came over and maintained good grades in school.

One night, Ryo asked me out to dinner at a nice cozy Italian restaurant and we had a wonderful time. He was so romantic. He caught me by surprise when he looked at me as we had finished our meals and said that he'd been in love with me since the day we met. He pulled a small jewelry box from his pocket. Inside, there was a silver ring with a small ruby on it. He cleared his throat and asked if I would officially become his girlfriend and accept the ring as a promise that he'd marry me when I turned twenty. I nearly screamed in excitement, but I kept my emotions in check and told him I would and he slipped the ring on my right ring finger.

Four months after that, our relationship was still going strong and things were more serious and we started getting intimate with each other. I started taking extra precautions and I urged him to do the same. We were still kids ourselves. We had plenty of time to start a family. Or so I thought...

* * *

_-Flashback-_

_The girls and I were walking from school, on the way to another study session at the shrine. It was very chilly that day, even for that time of the year, and Usagi complained that the cold was making her hungrier and that she was freezing her butt off until Ami-chan kindly handed her the extra sweater and a bag of potato chips that she had in her school bag. I sighed in frustration as I smacked the palm of my hand against my forehead. I had no time to comment, however, because suddenly, all hell broke loose._

_As we rounded the corner and passed some of the shops along our route, we heard panicked screams and ran to investigate. We discovered a bunch of people on the ground, unconscious and many more people running in all different directions as they tried to escape._

_"Youma!" Makoto exclaimed._

_The youma was about six feet tall and even though it didn't appear physically strong, I knew from experience that looks can be deceiving. It stood on two legs like a human, but was covered from head to toe in black fur and had red eyes, a tail like a fox, and claws that reminded me of that Wolverine character from the X-Men comic books. On its head, it had white horn-like things which glowed a pinkish or light purple color as it sucked energy from its victims. The youma must have sensed us because it stopped what it was doing and stared straight at us, ready to charge._

_"Minna, henshin yo!" Minako said as she held up her Crystal Change Rod._

_"Right!" Ami agreed. "Mercury Crystal Power, Make up!"_

_"Mars Crystal Power, Make up!"_

_"Jupiter Crystal Power, Make up!"_

_"Venus Crystal Power, Make up!"_

_"Moon Eternal, Make up!"_

_We completed our transformations and confronted the creature, which seemed to really piss it off. It let out a ferocious roar as it ran after us, shooting beams of light at us, but we managed to dodge and decided to spread out._

_"Mars Flame Sniper!" I yelled, firing a flaming arrow toward it with deadly accuracy. I gasped in surprise when the youma's horns glowed and deflected my attack back at me. I cried out in pain as I was hit in the stomach and sent flying into a steel door._

_"Sailor Mars!" Sailor Moon cried._

_"You'll pay for that, you bastard! Jupiter Oak Evolution!" A barrage of leaves hurdled toward it, but it too was deflected back and Jupiter was thrown into another building._

_"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"_

_"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" The youma roared even louder and Mercury and Venus were sent flying. It went to finish us off, but a red rose came out of nowhere and stopped it in its tracks._

_The youma stood there, stunned, which gave Sailor Moon a chance to finally bring it down._

_"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" The youma shrieked as the attack collided into it and knocked it off its feet. It lay still for what seemed like forever, but to our horror, it got back up, angrier than before, and went on a rampage, shooting energy beams in every direction._

_We launched our attacks again, but it easily blocked them._

_"Minna, let's do a Sailor Planet Attack! If we combine our powers, we can beat this thing." Mercury said hopefully._

_"Let's do it!" Venus chimed in._

_"Moon Eternal Power!"_

_"Mercury Crystal Power!"_

_"Mars Crystal Power!"_

_"Jupiter Crystal Power!"_

_"Venus Crystal Power!"_

_"Sailor Planet Attack!" The youma let out a final shriek as it bit the dust and then all was silent._

* * *

_We changed back into our civilian forms and by this time, I was feeling unusually exhausted and my gut hurt so badly from being hit. A wave of nausea crept up on me and I winced as I walked over to the nearest trashcan and emptied the contents of my stomach into it. I had been nauseous off and on for the past two weeks, but a home pregnancy test was negative, so I just chalked it up to some type of virus. I allowed Ami to check on my wounds. She finished with me and went to check on everyone else, then she called the ambulances._

_The other victims were taken to the hospital too and were treated and released while the rest, including myself, were kept for observation._

_That night, I woke up, having fallen asleep on the way to the hospital, and Ami and her mother came into my room with very serious expressions on their faces._

_"What is it?" I asked them as I noticed a yellowish folder in Dr. Mizuno's hands._

_"Your tests all came back normal. You don't have any broken bones and there's no internal bleeding, so you can go home in the morning." Dr. Mizuno informed me and she handed me a small sheet of paper with writing scribbled on it. I studied the writing for a moment and realized that this was a prescription for vitamins._

_"What's this for?"_

_"They're prenatal vitamins to help ensure that your baby gets everything it needs."_

_"Nani? Baby? What are you talking about?" I was confused. They must have had the wrong patient. How could this happen?_

_"I've noticed that you seem to be sick a lot recently, particularly on the way to school, so I got worried and asked my mother to run an HCG test. There's no mistake, Rei-chan. You're definitely pregnant." Ami replied._

_'Oh, no. Jii-chan is going to kill me when he finds out, and what about Ryo?' Then another more unsettling thought entered my mind. 'The youma...'_

_"I...is the baby okay?" I half-whispered to Ami, scared that the youma's attacks had endangered my child._

_"Hai, the baby is fine, but you need to take it easy when you get home. It's a miracle you didn't miscarry." I gave Ami a small smile, grateful that my child's life was spared._

* * *

_I was released from the hospital the next morning as planned and I decided that I'd take a little time off from school to heal. The minute I got home, I immediately flushed the rest of my birth control pills down the toilet and picked up the phone and dialed Ryo's number. No one answered, so I left a message on his answering machine, telling him to call back._

_I waited for nearly the whole day, sitting up in bed, either reading or watching TV, until the phone eventually rang._

_"Moshi moshi? Hino residence. How may I help you?" I answered._

_"Rei?"_

_"Yeah, it's me."_

_"Sorry I didn't call you back right away. What's going on? You sounded urgent on the machine."_

_"It's okay. Can you come over? I have something important to tell you."_

_"Sure. I have a shit load of homework to do tonight, but how about tomorrow afternoon?"_

_"Tomorrow is fine with me."_

_"I'll see you then."_

_"Okay, see ya." After I put the phone back in its cradle, I went to sit by the fire and meditate._

* * *

_The next day just couldn't come fast enough. I hoped Ryo would accept my news in stride and step up to the plate, but life had other plans._

_He arrived at the shrine around one in the afternoon and I invited him into my room and offered him a cup of tea and a dish of homemade cookies that Makoto had dropped off that morning._

_He devoured the cookies and took a sip of tea, then he stared at me intently as he waited to hear what I had to say. "So, what is it that you need to tell me?"_

_A lump got caught in my throat and I swallowed anxiously before I broke the news to him._

_"Are you sure?" He asked, not really believing me._

_"Yeah, it's true."_

_"Fuck! I thought you were on the pill."_

_"I was, but the pill isn't one hundred percent effective."_

_"What are you going to do?" _

_"I know we didn't plan this, but we can get through it."_

_"We? What do you mean, 'we?'"_

_"It's your child too, Ryo!" I shot back._

_"What do you plan on doing with the kid?"_

_"Excuse me?"_

_"I mean are you gonna give it up for adoption, get rid of it, or what?"_

_"Get rid of it? I could never go through that! How could you even suggest it? I thought you'd be a man and take responsibility. You think I'm ready for this? No. But I've accepted it and I'm willing to make it work."_

_"Well, I hate to break it to you, but I have no intentions of having kids. I never have and I never will." My blood was boiling. I couldn't believe it! After all this time, I thought I knew him, but he proved me wrong. I stood up, tears welling up in my eyes as I gave him a dirty look._

_"You are scum! Get out!" I ordered. "I hate you!" He got up and made his way out the door. After he left, I took the remaining cookies to the kitchen to wrap them back up and returned my room, crying and sobbing as I went through all the photographs I had of Ryo and I together and ripped up every last one of them._

* * *

_**To be continued... I hope you like it! This is the first time I've written in first person in a very long time, so I hope it turned out okay. Please suggest names for the baby!**  
_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thank you guys for all your help and leaving such great reviews and thanks to Awesome Rapidash for naming Rei's baby. You're all awesome!**_

* * *

**Second Chances**

* * *

Chapter 2

_-Flashback, continued-_

_A month and a half after I told Ryo that I was pregnant and the subsequent breakup, I shifted my focus from being angry and upset at him to not giving a damn about what he thought anymore . I stopped feeling sorry for myself and began planning for my baby's impending arrival. I was ten weeks along by then and everything had been going smoothly so far. While I still suffered from morning sickness, or more like all day sickness, the baby and I were healthy._

_One night, I was so sick and had been in the bathroom for who knows how long, hovering over the porcelain throne when Jii-chan became worried and went to check on me. _

"_Rei, daijoubu ka?" He rushed over and held my hair back while I threw up into the bowl. I told him I was fine, even though I felt like shit. I didn't want to trouble him. He'd never seen me this sick and I think I came very close to scaring him to death. The color drained from his skin like he had seen a ghost. _

_I eventually felt better and went over to the sink to rinse the nasty taste from my mouth. I looked in the mirror and noticed for that my body was changing. My figure was starting to fill out and my clothes were getting too tight. I couldn't button my jeans anymore, so I resorted to wearing sweats or track pants and baggy t-shirts, hoping that I could buy a little more time before I had to purchase new clothes. _

_I was still slim, but a small bulge was forming on my belly and without thinking, I moved my hands up to rest on it. I cringed as I saw his shocked reaction._

"_Y...You're really pregnant, aren't you?" He questioned. Now it was my turn to be pale in the face. I was frightened and wanted to crawl under a rock, but it was too late now. I had to tell him the truth. The longer I hid, the worse things would be._

"_Yeah." I admitted, holding my head down as tears fell from my eyes, my whole body shaking in fear and anticipation of what he might do next. But instead of getting angry and yelling at me, he simply pulled me into a hug._

"_It's okay." He whispered." I kind of figured that much."_

"_How?" I asked him. "Let me guess, you heard Ryo and I talking, didn't you?"_

"_I did, but I wanted to hear the news directly from you."_

"_I'm not in trouble, am I?"_

"_Well, I'm disappointed, but you're my granddaughter and nothing you do will ever change that."_

"_Nothing?" _

"_Nope. You're seventeen now. I trust you to make the right decisions about your baby's future and I'll love and support you no matter what. If you want to keep the baby, I won't stop you." _

"_Really?" _

"_Really. My great-grandchild will be so lucky to have you as his or her mother." My eyes brightened at the complement and I hugged him back and gave him a smile. I was so touched. I knew he'd be a wonderful great-grandfather. "That boy messed up big."_

"_Yeah, he did." I agreed. "Arigatou, Jii-chan."_

"_Douitashimashite."_

* * *

_Usagi, Ami, Makoto, and Minako were great too. They always stopped by the shrine when I needed to talk or just to hang out and promised that they'd look after the baby when I needed a break or had to work and I graciously accepted. _

_Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna also helped out when their busy schedules allowed. Haruka sometimes drove me to appointments, Michiru gave me CDs of her music and copies of her beautiful paintings to calm me down if I got too stressed, and Setsuna offered advice and assisted with my wardrobe, designing outfits to fit my growing belly. For a country as fashionable as Japan is, stylish maternity clothes were hard to find._

_Though I had a great support system in my family and friends, other things proved to be not so great. When I was four months along, my school principal found out about the pregnancy and she had me expelled, stating that I was a bad influence on the other students. _

_That was a devastating blow for me. With Jii-chan's help, I signed up for home schooling to finish out the rest of the school year and after I delivered the baby, it was decided that I'd transfer to Juuban High School with Usagi and the others._

_Days later, I learned that my father disowned me, cut off my funds, and took me off his insurance, which meant that in addition to working at the shrine, I'd have to find another job and without health insurance, I had to pay the medical costs myself. The money I had been saving since I was a child didn't even put a dent in them._

_I pounded the streets looking for work, but employers were either hesitant or reluctant to hire a pregnant teenager._

_In the middle of month five, my luck changed and I managed to find a job waitressing at Jūban diner, located in the center of the neighborhood. I had my reservations about working at night and the pay wasn't much, but the staff was kind to me. The owner, a woman in her fifties named Matsumoto Etsuko, whom everyone affectionately called Okaasan, treated me like I was her daughter and at one point, even asked a friend, a baker, to take Makoto on as an apprentice . Makoto, who wanted to learn the business skills required to run a successful bakery, was thrilled with the opportunity and started receiving lessons from the baker after school._

* * *

_Before I knew it, it was early November and three days before my due date, after a twenty-two hour drug-free labor, I gave birth to a healthy seven pound, twelve ounce baby boy. I collapsed back against the bed in exhaustion, drenched in sweat and tears as my son took his first breath and his cries rang through the whole delivery room. This sound was like music to my ears. Dr. Mizuno took him to get cleaned up and wrapped him in a soft blue blanket. She returned a few minutes later and placed him on my chest._

"_Congratulations, Rei-chan." She said and she left the room to tend to another patient, giving Jii-chan and I some time alone to bond with my son._

"_You did a great job." came Jii-chan's voice as he patted my shoulder. "He is perfect." _

_I chuckled as I took in the baby's features. Giving birth was one of the most painful experiences in my life, but when I first laid eyes on him, the pain seemed to melt away. _

"_Yes, he is, isn't he?" I was so amazed that I could create something so beautiful. He was blessed with my violet eyes and dark blond hair that appeared almost brown and he had my nose and mouth, as Jii-chan proudly pointed out. 'How could I love someone I just met?' I asked myself as I gently swept my fingers along his smooth, chubby cheeks. "Hello, little one. O tanjoubi omedetou."_

"_Would you mind if I held my great-grandson?" Jii-chan asked. _

"_Sure." I replied and I smiled as I handed my son over to him. The baby fussed for a bit after he left the comfort of my arms, but he quickly quieted down as Jii-chan rocked him._

"_So, what are you going to call him?"_

"_Hmm..." I turned my head toward the window, wiping the sweat from my forehead as I watched snowflakes fall from the sky and cling to the glass. It was the first snowfall of the season and right then and there, I knew I had the perfect name."His name is Yuki."_

"_Yuki, huh? I love it." _

_-End flashback-_

* * *

I pushed Yuki along in his stroller as we went on one of our evening walks. We had been doing this every night since he was a few days old and I enjoyed this special time with him. He was the light of my life, such a mellow and happy baby who hardly cried unless he was scared, hungry, or needed to be changed.

The hot August air brushed against our skin as we walked through the park and he babbled when we heard the sound of a violin and two familiar faces caught our eyes. 'Haruka-san, Michiru-san.'

"Oi! Rei-san, over here!" Haruka called. We made our way over to the couple and I sat down next to Haruka on the bench, unstrapping Yuki from the stroller and bouncing him on my lap as we watched Michiru play a piece on her violin. I didn't know what song it was, but she hit all the notes perfectly and when she was finished, she joined us with a bright smile on her face.

"Hello, Rei-san, hello Yuki-chan." She greeted in her usual elegant manner. Yuki cooed at her and stretched out his little arms, begging to be picked up and she was more than happy to oblige.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?"

Haruka grinned and answered my question. "We like it here. It fills us with the energy and inspiration we need to keep reaching our goals. Michiru's music and paintings have gotten much better and I've been winning more races."

"Amazing! I like it here, too. It helps me to de-stress after a long day at work."

"Speaking of work, how's it been?" Michiru inquired, wincing as Yuki grabbed some of her hair in his tiny fists and tugged on it. I suppressed a laugh as I untangled his fingers from her blue-green locks.

"It's been good. Busy."

"You know, you work too many hours. You're gonna run yourself ragged." Haruka said with a look of worry on her face. She must have noticed the dark circles under my eyes despite the concealer I wore to hide them.

"Thanks for the concern. I'll be fine." I responded. Deep down, I realized she was right. I looked horrible. Between working the night shift at the diner and arriving home in the morning to perform my miko duties, combined with raising an active nine month-old, I had very little down time. I was lucky if I managed to get three hours of sleep and it was taking its toll, but I loved my son and would do anything to assure that he had what he needed, even at the expense of my own health.

"You better take care of yourself, or else...got it?" The blond warned, shooting me a stern glare, but lacking the conviction to make it sound threatening.

"Hai. I will."

We talked a while longer until I glanced at my watch, surprised that it was after eight. We'd been out for two hours! It was way past Yuki's bedtime and I had to be at the diner by ten. I had to hurry home to put him to bed and get ready for work.

"Well, we have to get going. It was nice talking to you two again. Ja ne."

"It was great talking to you, too." The violinist replied politely. She helped me strap Yuki back into his stroller.

"See you around!" The racer added. I waved good-bye to the couple as Yuki and I walked the fifteen minutes back home.

* * *

_**Translations:**_

_**Jii-chan = Grandpa**_

_**Daijoubu ka? = Are you okay?**_

_**Arigatou = Thanks**_

_**Douitashimashite = You're welcome**_

_**Okaasan = Mother**_

_**O tanjoubi omedetou = Happy birthday (tanjoubi = birthday, omedetou = congratulations)**_

_**Oi! = Hey!**_

_**Hai = Yes**_

_**Ja ne = See ya!**_

_**More soon!**_


End file.
